risky stories.

How much can a journalist ask someone to risk to get a story??
We have all seen stories that risk people's families, reputations, jobs, relationships, and sometimes even their lives. So does being a journalist give us the right to ask people to risk any part of their lives for a story?
As a reporter you have to be able to "cut to the quick" and dig deep. If that means asking for details that could potentally ruin a persons personal or professional life do you scrap the story?... no, even if those questions you might ask could hurt the person in the end, I think you push the 'source' to the limit. Once you get the information you want and if you notice some of the information or details challenge your ethics you then have the choice of what you want to intail in the story.
I know that it will be different in different situations, but journalism is risky. One person's defintion of risky could be totally different to another. If you are too scared to risk someones feelings (for example) how are you ever going to get the story you're looking for?
Coverage of Eastern culture by the western media gets a 'C+' from me. I do believe some have tried really hard to show eastern culture, but they haven't done a very good job. I see the media showing eastern culture as a backward thinking people, with little or nothing to offer, and an enemy to western society in gerneral. I know that a lot of this is due to the war in Iraq and politics, but that doesn't change the fact that we don't see their real culture and people living there.